The Trouble With Prayer!

First let me say that the last post, "Burn In Hell Forever...Really?" must have hit a chord with a lot of people because it has gotten more hits than any blog I have ever written, and I have posted 896 blogs! But this particular one blew the pants off in numbers. I wonder what that means?

I promise to do a follow up on that post soon! But today I want to give you some insight on prayer that I am borrowing from pastor and author John Ortberg. 

For those of you who have ever tried to do some serious praying, have you ever had any of these things happen to you? 

You fall asleep.

You day dream.

You think of a hundred other things rather than praying!  Don't feel bad, it happens to me all the time! Very frustrating. So what I usually do is switch gears and say to myself, I'll try again later when I can get focused. But we all know how that usually turns out. Same thing!

So, what can we do about this when we have every good intention on connecting with God in prayer? I think the following offers an excellent solution! First realize that prayer is not easy. We are human and we house God's spirit within us. The Holy Spirit! Now think about this, "What if some of our wandering thoughts are actually being presented to us by the Holy Spirit as something we should be praying about?"

Example: I sit down to pray for the people on my prayer list but as soon as I start to get focused my mind starts wondering and focusing on another issue I have. I have to get the rent house fixed up, and my car's oil needs to be changed or I have bills that need to get paid..... 

What if, instead of fighting those thoughts, we go to God about those very issues and seek His guidance? What if it's the Holy Spirit guiding our minds to those very things to bring before God in prayer? Maybe it's a hint to turn it over to Him!

I thought this was an excellent idea and will be using this technique when my mind begins to wander when I pray...which is usually every time! I guess I will have a lot more to pray about!

I hope this gives you hope and a possible new approach to prayer!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

We will once again be doing the great Hotdog giveaway at the Edwardsville Halloween Parade. It is a very fun evening and all are invited to participate. I will be getting you more details soon. It is on the evening of October 31st.

Immanuel Methodist and Praise Community Fellowship are collaborating on a Free Thanksgiving Meal to be served on Sunday November 20th starting at noon. This meal was originally planned to offer a nice Thanksgiving meal for our SAKS and TWIGS families. However, we have also included people who show up for the Free Lunch Fridays and decided to open it to anyone in need. All we ask is a head count. If you know of a family or person who might not have a family Thanksgiving, please invite them or let us know so we can invite them. We will be looking for volunteers in many categories for this day and will have a signup sheet for jobs and time slots. This meal will be the Sunday before Thanksgiving. There will be no service that day, we will be busy being the church!  More details and sign up sheets to be coming soon. Please mark your calendars.

Our church is looking forward to a great holiday season. We have more exciting plans being developed and will be announcing them soon! 

Praise Community Fellowship and Immanuel Methodist, two congregations working together as one! Meeting at 8:45am on Sundays at 800 North main St. Edwardsville. Come join the team.

See you soon. Love pastor kent and pastor jackie